Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce are just as good as the real thing. Enjoy this delicious take-out-fake-out chicken dinner at home!
When you’re gluten free, most fast food restaurants are a hard no.
Except Chick-fil-A coming in clutch with waffle fries and grilled chicken nuggets!
When you’re craving crunch and a taste of traditional chicken nuggets though, you will not believe how delicious and simple copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce are. Skip the drive-thru for this homemade version you can make right at home!
Start by cutting a couple large chicken breasts into bite sized pieces then season with salt and pepper and place them inside a medium-sized bowl or gallon-size Ziplock bag.
To the bag add a marinade consisting of milk (any kind), an egg, and pickle juice.
Yes, pickle juice! I once heard that the key to Chick-fil-A’s signature chicken nugget flavor that it’s injected with pickle juice. Who’s to say if that’s true but either way, the addition of pickle juice to the marinade will impart juiciness and flavor to the chicken nuggets — and that’s definitely not a bad thing!
Let the chicken marinate in the mixture for 2-4 hours in the fridge.
When it’s time to cook the chicken, combine gluten free flour (or all-purpose flour if not gluten free) to another gallon-size Ziplock bag with powdered sugar, salt, and pepper then seal and shake to combine.
Transfer the chicken pieces into the mixture with tongs then seal and shake the bag again to evenly coat the chicken pieces.
Next heat peanut oil, which is what Chick-fil-A uses to fry all their foods, in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. If you don’t have peanut oil, vegetable or canola oil will work great.
Test the oil to see if it’s hot enough by dropping a bit of the flour mixture into the pot. If it sizzles, the oil is ready. It it pops and spatters, the oil is too hot. If it does nothing at all, it’s too cold.
Working in two batches in order to avoid crowding the pan, place the coated chicken pieces into the oil using tongs. Cook until one side is golden brown, 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown.
It depends on how big you cut your chicken, but my 1″ chicken pieces take about 3 minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken to a paper-towel lined plate then continue with the other half.
Serve ’em hot and fresh with a simple homemade honey mustard sauce that’s spoon-drink-worthy. SO GOOD!
I know you can buy Chick-fil-A sauce at the grocery store these days, but my homemade, creamy honey mustard sauce is super simple, and a bit lighter. It’s the perfect pairing.
Dip, devour, and enjoy!
Chick-fil-A Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3/4 cup milk, any kind
- 1/4 cup dill pickle juice
- 1 egg
- 1-1/4 cups flour, gluten free or all-purpose (dish will not be GF if using AP flour)
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup peanut oil, divided, or canola or vegetable oil
For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons honey
Directions
For the Chicken Nuggets:
- In a medium-size mixing bowl or gallon-size Ziplock bag, add the egg, milk, and pickle juice then whisk or squish to combine. Add the chicken pieces then cover or seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
- In another gallon-size Ziplock bag, add the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper then shake to combine. Remove the chicken from the marinade then add to the bag with the dry ingredients and shake to coat the chicken completely.
- Add the oil to a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or dutch oven then heat over medium-high heat (6 or 7 out of 10). Test the oil by dropping in a bit of the flour mixture. If it sizzles, the oil is ready, if it pops, lower the temperature a bit, if it does nothing, the oil is too cold.
- Carefully place half the chicken pieces into the oil with tongs. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Turn the chicken over then cook for 2-3 more minutes. Remove the pieces to a paper-towel lined plate then cook the other half of the chicken.
For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
- Stir together the honey mustard dipping sauce ingredients then serve with the hot chicken bites. Can be made up to 5 days ahead of time.
Notes
- Estimated nutrition information includes all the cooking oil.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I am an Iowa girl as well, but my family & I currently live in England (no Chick-fil-As in the UK). CFA is one of our family’s favorite fast food places and we’ve all been craving CFA. I will surprise my kids with this tomorrow evening! :) Thank you!
I am currently making these as I type this. Hoping they will be delicious as they look!
Hello! I made these tonight and had to comment on your post. They are OUT OF THIS WORLD. I LOVED them and my BF was obsessed. I will be swimming in the homemade honey mustard too—ridiculous! Thanks!
I love you for this recipe. I made these using Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking Mix (my oldest child has celiac disease). They were so delicious, and my daughter was thrilled to eat gluten free chicken bites that actually taste good.
I made these for dinner tonight and my husband ( who loves fast food and detests anything healthy) loved them. I baked them in the oven at 425 for 10 minutes and flipped them half way through. Thank you for sharing.
Made these tonight, and the whole family loved them. They taste exactly like Chick-Fil-A and can fill our cravings in between trips! (The closest one is 45 minutes away!)
I worked at one of the top Chick-Fil-A restaurants (which was a wonderful place to work) and Chick-Fil-A doesn’t use the pickle marinade anymore. They stopped using it a few years ago because some people had digestion problems (like my boss lol). I think they made a new recipe for all of the chicken but I am not sure. Anyway, this recipe looks a little different but I am sure it is good and I will have to try it! I would also recommend using the peanut oil if you can.
I loved these! Added about another tsp of honey to the honey mustard:) Will probably try with strips sometime:)
I cook for a significantly milk and egg allergic boy and I made these with almond milk instead of regular and just left out the egg altogether. They are amazing and really do taste like Chik-Fil-A even with those modifications.
Hi, I’m wondering if there is a substitute for powdered sugar? I live in China and not sure I can find it here. Thanks.
I would maybe just add a drizzle of honey in with the egg/pickle juice mixture for some sweetness!
You can also put regular sugar in a coffee grinder until it becomes powdered sugar.
this was fantastic!!! my son wiped out in minutes couldn’t stop making uuuhhmmm sounds the entire time he was chowing, awesom recipe!!!!
As a Georgia girl who was raised on Chick-Fil-A, I can vouch for this recipe’s authenticity and pure deliciousness. It’s the only way I’m making chicken nuggets or chicken fingers from now on. Thanks for posting!
I made these last night for dinner. While they were delicious and we gobbled them up (love the flavor the pickle juice adds) neither my husband or I thought they tasted like Chick-fil-a. Just my two cents for what that’s worth. Still very good though!